Messi should be acquitted for tax evasion in Spain: prosecutor

|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Soccer's five-times World Player of the YearLionel Messi should be acquitted on tax evasion charges against him, Spain's public prosecutors' office said on Friday as the trial drew to a close.

Neither Messi nor his father Jorge Horacio Messi attended the hearing in a Barcelona court where closing arguments were given.

Both areaccused by the Spanish tax office of defrauding the government of 4.2 million euros ($4.8 million) between 2007 and 2009 but have denied any wrongdoing.

Speaking on whether or not Lionel Messi was aware of the alleged fraud, state prosecutor Raquel Amado said: "There is no evidence that anyone explained it to him ... the prosecutor sustains that Lionel Andres Messi should be acquitted."